The present invention relates generally to high volume sprinkler heads and pertains particularly to reversible turbine driven sprinkler unit designed to cover selected parts of a circle.
Automatic sprinkler units having an oscillating sprinkler head which is adjustable for covering a selected part of a circle are known in the art. In my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,608 granted Mar. 3, 1982, I disclosed a part circle sprinkler with a reversible stator that incorporated an improved speed control device and an improved reversing mechanism. The switching arm for the control mechanism of that prior invention however extended through the side walls of the housing to the exterior thereof. This provided exterior adjustability of the circle limits of the coverage of the sprinkler head. The present invention provides an improved reversing mechanism for sprinkler units of that type.
High volume sprinkler units designed to cover large areas must have a large generally uninterrupted stream of water to obtain the maximum range. This however is inconsistent with the optimum water coverage in that the stream tends to concentrate the water at the outer diameter of its coverage. Such sprinkler units do not typically provide a uniform coverage throughout the arc or circle pattern of its coverage. One approach to improving the coverage is the use of the oscillating spoon which oscillates into the stream from the nozzle as the sprinkler head rotates.
The present invention provides an improved device for achieving optimum water coverage throughout the range of the sprinkler unit.